Many useful, effective drugs have a bitter taste when dissolved in liquid form or even when administered as pills or tablets. Exemplary of such drugs are acetaminophen, terfenadine, guaifenesin, trimethoprim, prednisolone, ibuprofen, prednisolone sodium phosphate, methacholine, neostigmine, epinephrine, albuterol, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine maleate, phenothiazine, chlorpromazine, chlordiazepoxide, amitriptyline, barbiturates, diphenylhydantoin, caffeine, morphine, demerol, codeine, lomotil, lidocaine, salicylic acid, sulfonamides, chloroquine, a vitamin preparation, minerals and penicillins. These and other bitter-tasting drugs are consequently usually formatted for oral administration as coated pills or tablets or as a powder or prills within a capsule so that the bitter-tasting medicament does not contact the tongue during oral administration.
Although provision in an above coated tablet or pill form or within a capsule overcomes the problem of offensive taste for several valuable medicaments for most of the adult population that uses those drugs, many adults and many children have difficulty swallowing the pills or tablets or cannot swallow them, and thereby do not benefit from those drugs. Recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,049 illustrates one technique that was successful in overcoming the bitter taste problem associated with orally administered terfenadine.
The disclosure that follows illustrates another, more general solution to both of the problems of bitter taste and oral administration of a solid dosage form such as a pill or capsule that is applicable to adults and children that have difficulty swallowing or cannot swallow pills, capsules and the like, as well as an alternative delivery mode for the general population.